Experts have so far dismissed reasons to panic over hantavirus, but the deaths caused by the aggressive Andes variant on the MV Hondius cruise ship are raising concerns. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Even though the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has classified the risk as “very low”, the Council…

When Angela Merkel receives the new European Order of Merit in Strasbourg this week, the ceremony will not simply celebrate a former German chancellor. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT It will render a broader European judgment about an era — and about the kind of leadership the European Union believes it needs in…

The Hungarian ambassador said at a meeting last week that Budapest is now ready to engage on Ukraine to achieve concrete results, as Péter Magyar’s new government initiates technical discussions with Kyiv on how to address the thorny issue of the Hungarian minority. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Under Viktor Orbán, Hungary blocked…

Israeli forces intercepted a Gaza-bound aid flotilla on Monday after it sailed from Turkey last week, in the latest attempt to breach the blockade of the Gaza Strip. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Global Sumud Flotilla is the latest of numerous attempts since the beginning of the Gaza war to deliver aid…

Published on 18/05/2026 – 12:26 GMT+2 Russia targeted eight regions of Ukraine in its latest overnight drone and missile barrage, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday, with local authorities reporting that the strikes wounded more than two dozen civilians, including three children. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Russian forces fired 524 attack…

Published on 18/05/2026 – 9:00 GMT+2 Months after a historic EU Free Trade Agreement, this tour executes that “mother of all deals” by balancing Brussels with individual capitals. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Over the weekend, Modi met with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten. The Netherlands is a key trading partner for India,…

Poland’s ambitious push to build a hydrogen-powered public transport system is faltering, with several buses halted by soaring fuel costs and fragile infrastructure, according to a new report by the NGO Central and Eastern Europe Bankwatch Network. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Polish municipalities embraced hydrogen buses largely because subsidy schemes covered up…

Published on 18/05/2026 – 9:08 GMT+2 Around 10 “new” suspected victims have come forward as part of a French probe into the network of late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a prosecutor said on Sunday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT France opened a human trafficking investigation after the US Justice Department released the…

Good morning. It’s Mared Gwyn, back penning this newsletter after a week in my native Wales during what was a pivotal week for UK politics. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The governing Labour party has been plunged into crisis after bruising defeats in the recent Scottish, Welsh and local elections, and a tussle…

Juanma Moreno of the People’s party is so set to secure an absolute majority in Andalusia, according to first results and announced earlier by Sigma Dos exit poll for ‘Canal Sur’. The PSOE, by contrast, has struggled to attract votes. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The PP would take between 56 and 59…